Communication and PR Manager

The Communication & PR Manager will lead the development and execution of high- impact communication and public relations strategies that advance MESPT’s visibility, credibility, stakeholder engagement, and influence. The role will drive impact storytelling, media relations, youth-centered communications, and knowledge products ensuring all content is ethical, inclusive, safeguarding-compliant, and evidence-based.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Corporate Communications, Public Affairs & Reputation Management
• Develop and lead an integrated Corporate Communications & PR Strategy that strengthens MESPT’s institutional brand across both the financial services arm and donor-funded programmes.
• Work closely with the Head of Fundraising and Partnerships to support donor positioning, partnership cultivation, institutional profiling, and resource mobilization.
• Protect and strengthen brand integrity by enforcing consistent messaging, tone, and visual identity across all communication platforms and materials.
• Ensure compliance with donor visibility guidelines, internal governance policies, and programme communication standards through collaboration with internal teams and external service providers.
• Drive public affairs and policy communications including issue framing, stakeholder engagement, and proactive positioning on sector and regulatory matters relevant to MESPT’s mandate.
• Lead issues management, crisis communication, and reputational risk strategy, including monitoring public sentiment and coordinating response actions.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on internal and external messaging, ensuring responses are timely, accurate, coordinated, and consistent.
• Prepare and manage the annual communications workplan, content calendar, campaigns, and publication timelines.
• Translate programme results into high-impact communication products tailored to youth, communities, donors, government, private sector, and partners.
• Digital Communications, Internal Engagement & Brand Visibility
• Lead MESPT’s digital communications strategy to strengthen visibility, engagement, and brand presence across platforms.
• Oversee website content updates, social media publishing, digital campaigns and paid promotions (where applicable).
• Ensure consistent branding, institutional and programs identity across all digital channels and communication products.
• Drive youth-focused engagement through modern formats such as reels, short videos, infographics and podcast clips.
• Track and analyze digital performance metrics and optimize campaigns using data insights.
• Establish and support an internal communications champions’ network to amplify approved messaging while ensuring compliance with brand and digital conduct standards.
• Build staff capacity through coaching on responsible digital engagement, storytelling, and social media advocacy.
• Lead change communication initiatives supporting organizational transformation and culture strengthening.
• Stakeholder Communications, Partner Visibility & Donor Engagement
• Work closely with the Head of Fundraising and Partnerships to coordinate stakeholder and partner communications to ensure consistent messaging across programme partners and platforms.
• Support partner visibility, co-branding, and donor acknowledgement in line with donor visibility requirements.
• Develop and maintain standardized key messaging packs for strategic engagements with government, donors, private sector, and learning platforms.
• Provide communications support for high-profile events including programme launches, policy dialogues, exhibitions and summits.
• Support packaging of donor- and investor-facing materials including partnership briefs, concept notes, pitch materials and impact narratives.
• Manage strategic communications engagement with donors and development partners to strengthen confidence in MESPT’s work and results.
• Media Relations & Public Relations
• Manage external visibility through proactive media engagement including press releases, advisories, conferences, interviews, and spokesperson support.
• Build and maintain relationships with journalists, editors, producers and media houses.
• Identify and manage PR opportunities including awards, publications, thought leadership placements and speaking engagements.
• Monitor media coverage and develop regular media intelligence reports including sentiment analysis.
• Impact Storytelling & Content Development
• Lead production of compelling impact stories including beneficiary/youth spotlights, human-interest stories, success narratives and finance access stories.
• Produce and quality-assure communications products including brochures, factsheets, newsletters, annual reports, case studies, donor briefs and pitch decks.
• Ensuring content consistently demonstrates results, learning, innovation and systems change.
• Coordinate ethical photo/video documentation during field missions and stakeholder engagements.
• Safeguarding, Ethics & Consent Compliance (Critical)
• Ensure safeguarding compliance in all communications, including informed consent, safe photography, confidentiality, and dignity-first portrayal.
• Prevent harmful storytelling practices including stereotyping, exploitation or inappropriate disclosure.
• Implement safeguarding review systems for sensitive content and ensure incident-free communications practices.
• Train staff and partners on ethical storytelling and consent standards.
• Knowledge Management, Learning & Influence
• Package programme evidence, learning and insights into knowledge products such as learning briefs, toolkits, policy briefs and case studies.
• Support documentation of models and approaches that demonstrate innovation and scalability.
• Support policy influence and advocacy through targeted messaging and content development.
• Events, Engagements, Visibility & Protocol
• Lead visibility planning and communications for institutional and programme events.
• Develop speeches, scripts, talking points, stakeholder invitations, event branding materials, protocol arrangements and media coordination plans.
• Provide communications and protocol support for VIP visits, donor missions, investor engagements and government delegations.
• Lead planning and delivery of MESPT’s flagship BDCG Annual Conference, including messaging, branding, speaker positioning, media engagement, content development and post-event visibility.
• Ensure all events achieve strong documentation, media coverage and post-event reporting aligned to donor and institutional standards.
• Perform any other duties assigned by the Supervisor from time to time.

Key Deliverables

• Improved institutional visibility and brand perception among donors, government, partners, communities and media.
• Communications Strategy implemented with ≥90% annual deliverables achieved.
• Fundraising and partnership support strengthened through high-quality communication products and stakeholder materials.
• Increased positive media performance (volume, reach and sentiment).
• Digital growth achieved including improved reach, engagement and audience growth.
• Quarterly impact stories and knowledge products delivered on time.
• BDCG Annual Conference delivered successfully with strong visibility outputs and stakeholder feedback.
• Timely donor and investor communications delivered to standard.
• Zero safeguarding breaches in all communications content and media documentation.
• Effective management of reputational risks and crisis communications.
• Strengthened internal communications and staff alignment.
• Full budget and governance compliance maintained.

Knowledge, Experience & Skills

• Minimum 7 years progressive experience in communications/PR, preferably in donor-funded programmes, youth development, livelihoods, finance, agriculture, inclusion, or climate-related programmes.
• Proven experience developing and implementing communication strategies.
• Strong media relations and public engagement experience.
• Proven ability to produce donor-quality communication products and reports.
• Excellent writing and editing skills (development communications and news writing).
• Strong digital communications skills (content strategy, publishing calendars, analytics).
• Strong branding, messaging and stakeholder engagement competence.